


and after all is said and done

by JayQueenofHugs (bifangirl)



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Pre-Canon, Survivor Guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:33:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25542907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bifangirl/pseuds/JayQueenofHugs
Summary: your beauty lost, your battles wonTheo in Castle Candy in the years following the Ravening War.
Relationships: Amethar Rocks/Caramelinda Rocks
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11
Collections: Dimension 20 Fic Exchange 2020





	and after all is said and done

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WatchTheAntagonist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WatchTheAntagonist/gifts).



> D20 fic exchange work based on a prompt from WatchTheAntagonist (pre-canon life in Castle Candy). Title is from After All by the Altogether.

For the first year or so after the end of the war, Theo expects to see enemies at every sign of movement. He expects to be met with a sword to the chest at every corner he turns, expects arrows to fly while he stands on the ramparts of the castle, expects an assassin to strike Prince Amethar at any moment. He watches King Jadain waste away from grief, watches him wither and die, and fears poison or disease, some new horror the world is throwing at them.

There’s an air of mourning and grief that hangs over Castle Candy when King Jadain passes;  _ King _ Amethar walks the halls quietly to the statues every day, Calroy often by his side. The stillness in the air is jarring to Theo, memories of Sapphria, Amethar, and Citrina’s antics flooding his mind. And the atmosphere lasts through King Amethar’s wedding to Caramelinda Meringue, an awkward tension filling the room as Theo watches carefully, half expecting a dagger to be thrown. But the ceremony proceeds as smoothly as possible, though Theo knows it should have been Lazuli that Caramelinda was marrying.

There’s still tension in the air after the wedding, clear to everyone in the castle whenever the King or Queen passes by. It doesn’t ease until the twins are born, and even then it still lingers. But as the twins grow, everyone in Castle Candy is forced to adapt. The laughter and joy that the princesses bring to the hallways change the atmosphere, and King Amethar and Queen Caramelinda start to smile again.

Chancellor Lapin’s arrival in the castle changes things once more; there’s a new tension surrounding him, and Theo doesn’t trust him one bit. They pass in the hallways and sneer at each other, whisper insults under their breaths when they think the other can’t hear. The animosity between them is clear to everyone in Castle Candy, but no one wants to comment on it openly. Theo knows there are whispers in the corridors, but he doesn’t mind them - better for them to gossip about a petty rivalry than to spread rumours about the King and Queen.

As the twin princesses grow, they start to get more and more mischievous. They start to sneak out of lessons, run away from the castle to Dulcington, and Theo is bombarded with memories of Lazuli’s stories, of what she told him about Sapphria’s escapades. He thinks he sees a wistful look in King Amethar’s eyes whenever he’s told about his daughters’ exploits, but it’s not Theo’s place to comment or speculate so he pushes his observations out of his mind, instead turning his thoughts towards finding the princesses. He doesn’t exactly blame them for running away from the Chancellor’s lessons, but he can’t let them know. So he brings them back to the castle and pretends like his lectures are doing anything, like Jet and Ruby won’t just run away again.

As expected, their antics continue, and their demands to learn how to fight grow more and more persistent. “Teach us a killing blow,” they demand, but Theo refuses every single time. “You don’t want to know what a killing blow feels like, Princess Jet,” he doesn’t say to them. “You don’t want to draw blood in battle, Princess Ruby,” he thinks to himself, but he stays silent. A part of them wonders if they should learn to defend themselves, but another part of him hopes they never need to. “I’ll make sure they’re safe,” he promises himself, vows that he’ll die before they ever have to learn how to fight.

But Calroy teaches Jet how to fight and Ruby gets her circus training, and Theo feels a bit like a ghost. (Of course he knows he doesn’t control them, of course he knows he doesn’t have the authority to make decisions, but he spends a lot of the time wondering how much he actually matters.) But he pushes down his bitterness and continues on, scolding the twins and doing his best to protect them.

And even though it’s still been years since the war, Theo knows he sees grief in King Amethar’s eyes, longing in Queen Caramelinda’s, and regret in Calroy’s. He sees the ghosts of the sisters out of the corner of his eye sometimes; Archmage Lazuli studying and taking notes meticulously, Princess Sapphria with her cunning smile as she engages in animated conversation with an unseen figure, General Rococoa a blur as she trains and spars with an unknown partner, and Saint Citrina as she smiles serenely and prays to the Bulb above. (He wonders sometimes if he could have saved anyone. Maybe if he’d been better at magic, maybe if he was any good at diplomacy, maybe if he was better at fighting, maybe if he’d had any faith at all.)

But life in Castle Candy goes on, past the grief and sadness and fear. Theo still jumps at the movement in the shadows, still stays awake as long as possible to look for danger, still watches his fellow knights with suspicion, but there’s a sense of peace filling the air now. The royal family is under  _ his _ protection; he won’t let anything happen to them no matter what, they’re safe. There is calm in the Castle, laughter in the streets of Dulcington, and there are smiles throughout Candia. But he won’t let himself rest, won’t let his guard down. He will keep them all safe; he will not fail again.

And he confides in Calroy and Toby often, makes sure he’s not the only one there, not the sole protector of the Rocks family. He doesn’t trust many in the castle (and definitely doesn’t trust the Chancellor), but he’s known Calroy and Toby since before the Ravening War, and so he turns to them whenever he needs help. And for a long time, Castle Candy is as safe as possible; the Concord brings peace to Calorum, and unrest in Candia after the war slowly begins to fade away. And the Rocks family is safe and happy.


End file.
